MacKenzie Shepherd

When I was 12 years old I joined the Civil Air Patrol and started flying gliders. I attended a few Civil Air Patrol flight academies and in the summer of 2015 I completed my first solo.

After leaving the academy, my family realized that we didn't have enough money to continue my training. A month passed until I was notified that I was nominated for a CAP National Flight Scholarship to help pay for the rest of my private pilot training. The scholarship was given to eight cadets throughout the nation. I happened to be one of those eight. My whole family was in tears when we found out the news.

I started my training at North County Airport and with the help of the scholarship on June 26th, 2016, I passed my private pilot check ride. One of my goals was to earn my PPL while I was 17 years old...because of the help of the scholarship I achieved this goal!

​Currently, I'm trying to find the funds to continue training. My goal is to become an airline pilot and travel the world!